Ann, re: hatred for the President, if you really want to know, I recommend you check out my link above and/or try some of the google searches that Vicki suggested. That's domestic. I'm sure President Obama is more personally popular overseas than Bush was (which isn't saying much
) but he's not been getting much out of it. Personal preferences are important, but so are national interests. I'll bet you, though, that Bush will be remembered much more fondly than Obama in Poland.
Also I think some of it is inevitable; people had built up incredible amounts of expectation of Obama (he was brilliantly non-specific, so everyone could see whatever they chose to see), and it wouldn't have been possible for anyone to live up to that. So disappointment and disillusionment set in. It's almost like a marriage breaking up; people can get very bitter in a divorce, because they had personal expectations that weren't fulfilled. Does that make sense?
For the record, I don't hate President Obama. I hate what I see him doing to my country, but that's not the same thing. I dislike him... but that's not the same as hating, either. I suspect a lot of people fall into that category.
Last -- the Tea Parties are not about particular politicians, or political parties. I've seen more than one video of a Republican politician taking the stage at a Tea Party and being booed down.
PJ
who remembers the old days, when dissent was the highest form of patriotism... it seems like only a year ago...
